The Piercing
by StraniqueGirl0684
Summary: Butch gets a new facial accessory, and it catches the toughest fighter's attention. But will Buttercup be able to stomach the idea of finding something about her counterpart even remotely attractive? GREENS fic.


**Author's Note:** I had another idea for this ship I adore so much, so I figured I'd give it a try! People were so kind about my first attempt for this ship, so here's somewhat of a contrasting piece. Once again, any and all feedback is appreciated! I love this ship and this community so much that I hope you'll enjoy this little story with me!

Thank you so much, and onto the story!

* * *

He looked like an idiot. Not that this was new, but somehow he found a way to look even stupider than usual. That awful spiked black hair was bad. The emerald eyes with a mischievous glint ever-present were worse. But, above all else, that horrific smirk made him look ridiculous.

And now, at the edge of his mouth that always tilted up when he smirked, a silver ring drew even more attention to his dumb face and idiotic expression.

Not that Buttercup noticed, of course.

Of course not.

In fact, it was Bubbles who pointed it out.

"Buttercup, you've been glaring at Butch even longer than usual. Are you okay?" her sister asked, blonde brows furrowed over her big blue eyes.

"Fine." Buttercup stabbed her plastic fork at whatever mystery slop was on her tray from the cafeteria today, eyes never leaving that moron's stupid face.

Bubbles turned to fully look at Butch now, trying to find what Butch was doing wrong. "He's not doing anything. He's just talking to his brothers."

"Yup."

"Oh wow! When did he get his lip pierced?"

"Did he? Hadn't noticed."

The blonde turned back around with a giggle. "I think it looks good."

Dirty rotten traitor. Who needed her anyway? Buttercup had another sister. She didn't need two.

Said red haired sister finally arrived at their lunch table, raising a brow at Buttercup. "What did I miss, girls?"

"Nothing." The lime eyed girl stabbed at her tray again, finally having fixed her stare on it instead of her counterpart with the stupid piercing.

Buttercup knew her sisters were sharing what she oh-so-affectionately referred to as 'the look.' It was the one they shared whenever her mood was foul, and they were trying to figure out what was annoying the shit out of her rather than asking her. She didn't know if they thought she didn't notice these exchanges or thought she was stupid, but she let them have these moments because it helped them feel like they cracked some big case every time they spoke to her.

Sometimes it got really irritating being treated like an anger management patient, but her sisters usually meant well enough.

Bubbles eventually cleared her throat and said, "I was just noticing Butch's new piercing, Blossy. What do you think of it?"

Blossom searched the cafeteria for only a moment before her gaze settled on the boy in question. She tilted her head studiously before nodding once. "I don't really see the appeal of getting one myself, but it suits him somehow."

"Right? It looks good! It totally goes with the bad boy vibe he's got going on." Another giggle.

Buttercup scowled. "He's a villain, Bubbles. Of course he has a 'bad boy vibe.'"

"Boomi-er, Boomer isn't like that though." The blonde blushed and cleared her throat again, as if that would cover her slip-up. Seriously, she gave her no credit. Buttercup and Blossom both knew their sister was utterly infatuated with her counterpart, regardless of her protests on the matter. But why push it when it was better for all of them if she didn't act on the feelings anyway?

"Do you not think it suits him, Buttercup?" Blossom asked carefully.

Buttercup scoffed. She knew she shouldn't take such an obvious bait, but the stupid thing kept glinting in the shitty florescent lighting, drawing attention to itself. "I think it's stupid. And ugly. And the piercing can go too."

Blossom sighed heavily. However, before she could launch into a lecture about being the bigger person and blah blah blah, Buttercup shot her a look.

"He's our enemy, Bloss. I don't have to play nice with him."

"I know. But you don't need to stoop to his level with the petty insults." She shook her head, pink eyes glittering in what Buttercup could only assume was disappointment. That was the look she usually got from her older sister; it lost its effectiveness some time ago, at least on this issue. Maybe Bubbles would go for playing nice with the bad guys and Blossom would fake civility, but not Buttercup. No ma'am, it wasn't going to happen.

"At least I said them behind his back like a mature adult." Buttercup sneered as she shoveled a forkful of whatever the hell was on her tray into her mouth. Only to immediately regret the action. "Ugh. What is this?"

"I think it's supposed to be…spaghetti?" Bubbles surmised uncertainly before happily munching on her salad. If one could call something with that many fruits and nuts over a bed of lettuce a salad. And with almost no dressing on it. Honestly, how did she even stomach that? It didn't look much more appealing than the slop on Buttercup's tray.

Idiot counterparts were momentarily forgotten as Buttercup tried to dissect her food, proposing her theories to her sisters until the bell rang.

Ugh. Another lunch where she didn't really eat. This was why she always kept a back-up sandwich in her locker. No way was she going to make it through the rest of the day on an empty stomach.

As she spun the combination into her locker, she got a horrible feeling that someone was watching her. Shrugging it off, she grabbed her salvation sandwich and immediately chomped into it. Mmm. Classic PB&J. Why did she even bother with pretending the cafeteria food would be edible when she had this perfect specimen always waiting in the wings?

That is until someone bumped into her, causing the sandwich to fall to the floor with more than half still remaining.

Buttercup felt her temper flare and clenched her fists in an attempt to control it. It was probably just some idiot not looking where they were going, and it was frowned upon to threaten people without powers or super villain plots. Thus, she would settle for a half-assed apology for her unsalvageable sandwich.

However, as she turned to acknowledge the sandwich killer, she didn't even manage to turn the full way around before the person spoke.

"Hey there, Butterbabe."

Not him! Ugh. Well, at least this meant powers and reaming him a new asshole were back on the table.

"Watch where you're going, dickweed!" she snarled.

"Didn't get enough at lunch? Had to stuff your face at your locker too?" he replied with that stupid smirk on his stupid face, and she wanted to slap him.

"You know damn well that food is inedible. And fuck you! I can eat whatever I want!" Her temper flared in full force now.

"I wish I could say the same." The wolfish grin on his face as he eyed her up and down made the double entendre perfectly clear, and this time she did slap him.

"PERVERT!"

Butch merely chuckled. "I bet you taste as spicy as you talk."

Seeing red, Buttercup quickly swung her leg up in the hopes of hoofing him right in the gonads, but he lazily spun out of the line of fire. With a tsk, he sidled up next to her.

"Butterbabe, if you wanted to touch them, all you have to do it ask." He snickered. "But maybe not so rough, yeah? Wouldn't want to damage the goods."

She scoffed as she moved away to face him again, not wanting him in her personal space. "You wish, dickweed. As if anybody would want to touch you with a ten foot pole!"

"Well, foot might not be right metric of measurement, but I'm flattered you think so highly of me."

Her lime green eyes widened in disbelief as her mouth fell open. What the fuck?! Did he practice this shit in the mirror at home or something? Buttercup floundered for something to say that couldn't be misinterpreted and found herself zoning out on the hoop in his lip again. Even outside of the cafeteria, the stupid thing still caught the light to make it shine. She briefly wondered how much it would hurt if she ripped it right out of his stupid smirking face.

"See something you like?" Butch asked, taking a step closer to her. His stupid tongue poked out ever-so-slightly and something else caught her focus.

Oh for the love – did he seriously get his tongue pierced too?!

"Not even close," she grumbled. "Just in awe of how putting all those holes in your face somehow made you uglier."

"You wound me, Butterbabe. Though, luckily for me, your opinion is the minority. Do you know how many chicks dig piercings?"

Nothing good could come from answering that question. Of course she knew! In most instances, she would be one of them! But not with him; like he'd need the additional stroke to his ego if she even did like it.

Which she definitely didn't.

She definitely, mostly didn't.

Just like she definitely, mostly hadn't found her counterpart remotely attractive prior to the facial additions. Because seriously, if one thought about it, wouldn't that be conceited? He looked a lot like her, after all. So, really, being attracted to him wasn't an option.

Even if his eyes were definitely a much deeper green than hers. And, despite being athletic, Buttercup would never occupy the amount of space Butch's muscular form did. Who cared if his hair had her curious about running her hands through it; would it still be soft even after the obvious amount of hair products needed to maintain that stupid spiky style?

She definitely, mostly wasn't attracted to him.

Maybe.

Her sisters could never know. She'd never hear the end of it!

"So I'll see you then?"

Releasing the lip she hadn't realized she'd practically chewed a hole through, Buttercup snapped her attention back to Butch. "What?"

"Robin's party tomorrow. I'll see you there, Butterbabe."

Buttercup groaned. Had Robin seriously invited the Rowdyruffs? Again? Did she learn nothing from the last time? Something always ended up broken when the Powerpuffs and the Rowdyruffs were in the same place for too long. She could have sworn Robin's parents banned the boys from the house!

"Can't wait," she growled with a roll of her eyes. Then she noticed her poor, dejected sandwich on the floor. With a huff, Buttercup picked it up, the sandwich slightly squishing between her fingers, stalked over to the nearest trash can, and chucked it.

Now she was annoyed, hungry, and armed with the knowledge that she wouldn't even be getting a full weekend's reprieve from her lecherous counterpart. With _two_ new stupid piercings.

* * *

Sometimes Buttercup hated her friends.

Sure, they were supportive and helped the girls out in a pinch, especially when saving the day took away from more menial tasks. That was all well and good, but these hormone addled friends of hers were ruining her Saturday night!

How? By insisting that all of the party's attendants (and really, when there were only about a dozen people present, did it even constitute as a party?) play Seven Minutes in Heaven.

Up until that point, Buttercup had done a marvelous job of avoiding Butch. Sure, part of that was probably due to the fact that Julie Smith deemed it necessary to glue herself to his side for the night, but Buttercup did her fair share of the avoidance legwork! She made sure to eat when he was dancing and dance when he was eating. Not once did she engage in conversation with either of his brothers, and she event went as far as to avoid Floyd and Lloyd for a portion of the party when they were talking to the brute.

She thought the party was winding down. Blossom had checked her watch five times in the last twenty minutes: a clear signal that the redhead wanted to go home. Or maybe she knew all along what Robin and Bubbles had cooked up for the closing event of the party. Honestly, Buttercup shouldn't have been surprised. Her blonde sister had been even gigglier than usual, eyeballing Boomer with a look Buttercup would need to bleach her brain to remove from her memory. Seriously, was Bubbles in heat or something?

Buttercup made sure not to look too closely at the looks that were being returned, that's for damn sure.

So now here she sat in a circle with all of the fuckwads she called her friends, feeling her chest clench when a bottle was placed in the middle of the circle. Why the hell would they leave this kind of thing up to chance? Half of the effort would be wasted on having to spin it again to avoid the siblings getting each other anyway! Plus, couldn't they just pull names out of a hat or something? That cut down on the time and the anxiety of this whole stupid game!

Plus, who the hell wanted to awkwardly listen to moaning for seven minutes at a time?!

"This is a stupid idea," she grumbled to no one in particular.

"Oh, cheer up, Buttercup!" Robin said from her left with a grin. "It's going to be fun!"

"In what way is listening to other people I know make out _fun_?"

Robin's grin merely widened. "Who said we'd be listening? It wouldn't be complete without mood music!" Clicking a remote Buttercup hadn't noticed in her hand, the music from the dance floor came back on – the deep, thudding bass causing her toes to curl.

What was she trying to achieve here? Having people fuck in her closet?!

However, before Buttercup could point out, once again, what a horrible idea this was, her younger sister spoke up from across the circle.

"So here's the rules!" Bubbles squealed with a beatific smile. Who knew someone so cute could also be so evil? "First spin is the person you get to share your Seven Minutes with! Then, we'll start the timer once the door is closed. Once you've returned, the same person will spin the bottle to determine who gets to go next. Any questions?"

"Yeah. Can I go home?" Buttercup asked. Mitch snorted from her right. Yeah, yeah. Yuk it up! Some best friend he turned out to be, mocking her irritation and discomfort like that. She elbowed him in the side, causing her friend to grunt in pain and a small smile to crawl across her face.

Bubbles giggled. "Of course not, Buttercup! Now, who wants to go first?"

Well, wasn't that silence reassuring? Everyone seemed to be waiting for everyone else to speak up. Buttercup smirked. This was one way to get out of having to be locked in a cramped space with one of her friends…or enemies if the bottle decided to be cruel; if no one went first, the game could never progress. Maybe after a few more moments of the oppressively awkward silence she'd be allowed to leave in peace.

Suddenly, a huge, deep breath came from her left, and Buttercup saw Robin's blue eyes harden in determination. Oh fuck. No, Robin! Don't –

"I'll do it!" the brunette exclaimed, grabbing the bottle in a strong grip. Without pause, she spun it.

Buttercup attempted to glare the bottle into submission. That bottle needed to stay far away from her. With a quick glance at Robin, she saw her friend's cheeks flushed a bright red. Ah, that false bravado always did get her into trouble.

Of course, the blush could also have to do with the girl's massive crush on a certain Mike Believe who sat almost directly across from her. Why Robin and Bubbles thought she couldn't hear them talking when she was sitting _in the same room_ was beyond her. When she had brought it up in conversation, Robin seemed shocked that she was privy to the information.

The two of them were definitely not winning any awards for being the best and brightest anytime soon.

The accursed bottle finally slowed, and, lo and behold, the fates smiled on Robin today. Sitting at the other end was an equally red Mike Believe.

Bubbles erupted in squeals as the pair of teens stood up and crossed the room toward the closet. Robin looked like she practically bit a hole in her lip while Mike shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, rubbing the back of his neck. Before they reached the closet, Floyd and Lloyd started whooping and hollering. Buttercup absently thought she heard the phrase, "Get some!" escape from one of them, earning them an angry glare from Mr. Believe.

However, always one to take it in stride, Mike opened the closet door and then bowed slightly toward Robin while gesturing toward the door. "After you."

If that girl got any redder, tomatoes would be declaring copyright infringement.

The door closed, and Blossom, ever the responsible one, started the timer. By pointedly trying not to listen for noises while also trying to figure out if the two had any success proved to create another awkward silence. There was no way in hell Buttercup was going to sit here and just _wait_ for seven minutes to pass. Those minutes would drag if she let them.

So she pushed Mitch over into Kim's lap, causing the pair to both stumble and blush.

"Buttercup! What the fuck?" Mitch hissed before turning back to Kim. "Sorry, Kim…"

"It's, uh…it's okay."

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "I don't want to just sit around and wait while people awkwardly grope each other in the closet."

"So you pushed me to, what, cure your boredom?" Mitch questioned incredulously.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Sounds like someone is pretty eager to get in that closet themselves, eh,, Butterbabe?" Ugh. Great. After not speaking to him all night, this is how he opens the conversation?

"You fucking wish, dickweed."

Butch grinned at her with a shrug. "Ya caught me."

Narrowing her eyes, Buttercup stood up and began to storm over to the other side of the circle. "And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

He lazily stood and met her in the middle of the circle. "Whatever you want it to mean, Butterbabe."

"That's not an answer!"

"Sure it is." He leaned closer to her, his lip piercing somehow catching light in the dim basement. Seriously, did he polish the damn thing? "It means I hope we're next."

"You're disgusting."

"Ouch. That hurts."

"Who even invited you to this party?!"

"Our lovely hostess who is a little too preoccupied to process your complaint at the moment."

"That was an awful lot of fifty cent words there, Butchy Boy. Who knew you had a brain in that big head of yours?"

A whisper came from behind her that she identified as Kim's. "I don't know if we should be chanting 'fight' or 'make out.' Are these two always like this?"

She heard Mitch snort. "This is tame for them." Traitor.

Butch absentmindedly licked his lip piercing, his tongue piercing very nearly getting caught in the loop, and Buttercup felt her breath catch. She was suddenly overcome with an urge to tongue the facial accessory herself, and that thought made her take a step back. Her face suddenly felt hot, and she hoped that it didn't show in the low lighting.

"Well, well. I wonder what you're thinking about that got you to blush like that. Mind in the gutter, Butterbabe?" Damn that smirk! And damn that piercing for making it even more appealing… AND DAMN HER BRAIN! When did it become such a filthy traitor?!

"N-no! Of c-course not!" Real convincing there, Buttercup. 10/10 would believe the performance again.

Before Butch could reply, a beeping noise made Buttercup jump a foot in the air, nearly tripping over the bottle. Luckily, on instinct, Butch reached out and grabbed her arm, steadying her. As soon as she was upright, she snatched her arm away.

"Who wants to be the bearer of bad news?" Blossom asked, gaze never leaving her phone.

Bubbles sighed before putting on a brave face. "I'll do it. Poor things." However, she practically skipped over to the closet, completely forgoing her attempt at being sorry for the pair. She knocked gently on the door. "Time's up, lovebirds!"

After a couple of moments, the closet door opened, and Buttercup choked out a laugh. Wow, those two really made the most of those seven minutes… Mike's hair not only stood almost straight up, his shirt buttons were uneven which they definitely hadn't been before entering the closet. Robin smiled softly, looking awfully proud of herself, while Mike's grin threatened to split his face in two.

Bubbles looked after the two of them, cooing and squealing in delight. Though Buttercup could understand why; maybe this was the icebreaker Robin and Mike needed to finally stop dancing around the fact that they liked each other.

However, once everyone sat in the circle again, Buttercup realized this torturous game was going to continue. And continue it did.

Pair by pair, somehow managing to be two different people every time, everyone ended up in the closet. Blossom's face after being in the closet with Floyd was something Buttercup wanted to commit to memory; her sheer horrorstricken look was second only to Brick's ill-concealed jealousy. Buttercup knew damn well there was no way her sister did more than a polite peck with the rambunctious twin, but telling Brick that would ruin half the fun! And since the bottle had mercifully avoided her thus far, she could admit to seeing the appeal of this stupid game. Some of the wonky pairings were priceless!

However, Floyd spun the bottle to determine the next spinner, and Buttercup noticed it was slowing down only to point directly at her. Well, it had been fun while it lasted.

Maybe she'd get lucky and get Mitch who would never make a move on her in a million years if he wanted to keep his junk intact. Then the two could just shoot the shit for seven minutes, snickering about the other fools in the room.

Cracking her knuckles to calm her shaking hands, the lime eyed girl grabbed the bottle and spun. However, as soon as the bottle began to slow, she managed to be taken by surprise.

"GO, GO, GO!" Robin shouted from next to her.

The room exploded into motion as everyone in the circle scrambled away, leaving only herself and Butch in the circle. Technically, it was more of a line at this point.

"What the fuck?!" she shouted, scanning the room, looking for her traitorous sister in particular. Blossom at least had the decency to look ashamed while Bubbles simply shot her a big grin.

"It looks like we didn't even need to move," Mitch muttered from somewhere behind her.

And he wasn't kidding. The bottle couldn't be pointing more directly at Butch if someone placed it there. She felt the color completely drain from her face.

"Well, this has been great, but look at the time! I think we should be going. Right, girls?" Buttercup ground out through her clenched teeth.

"I think we have time for this one last round, don't you think, Blossy?" That's it! Buttercup officially only had one sister.

"I suppose we do. Though it is getting rather late…"

Ha! Score one for Buttercup!

"But one more couldn't hurt."

Zero. Now she had zero sisters. Fuck it. She'd always wondered what being an only child would be like anyway.

"What's the matter? Scared?" Butch challenged as he stood, crossing his arms triumphantly.

Her eyes narrowed. "Not on your life. Let's just get this over with."

She stormed over to the closet with him trailing behind her. The girl whirled to make eye contact with the redhead she used to call a sibling. "You start that thing the _second_ this door closes, and I want someone ready to open the door the instant the timer goes off. Clear?"

Blossom sighed with a shake of her head. "Of course, Buttercup. Your treatment will be the same as everyone else's."

"Oh, forgive me. I forgot that everyone jumped out of the circle for all of the other people that got trapped in this hellhole together!"

Bubbles giggled. "Oh, hush! You'll be thanking us later!"

"Be sure to tell us what he can do with that piercing!" Robin catcalled from a safe distance away.

"You are all the worst friends, and I sincerely hate every single one of you."

Butch stepped into the closet. "You joining me or what, Butterbabe?"

Without another word, she stomped over to the closet, slamming the door behind her. Once she was shut inside, she realized just how dark it must have seemed to the people without supervision. Without it, she knew she wouldn't be able to see a damn thing in here.

She cracked her knuckles over and over again, pressing her back against the wall of the closet. In the small space, his boy smell invaded her nose, and she didn't find it entirely unpleasant. Buttercup couldn't identify if it was simply deodorant or body spray or some combination of the two, but he smelled good. This was the first time she'd ever noticed that.

He reached for her face, and she immediately recoiled, frowning when she had nowhere further to back up. To her surprise, Butch retracted his hand and shoved it in his pocket, tongue playing with his piercing again.

Was he…really that nervous about this?

"Look, Buttercup," Butch began with a sigh, running a hand through his hair, "I'm not going to make you do anything. I may be a villain, but even I have standards."

She cocked her head at the use of her real name. "Holy shit, you're serious."

"I know you're convinced I'm the biggest asshole on the planet, but there are some things even I won't do." Butch smirked. "When I kiss you, I want to know that you're as into it as I am."

"When?"

"Yeah."

"What makes you so sure that I'll ever want to do that?"

"Just a hunch." He reached out to cup her face again, and this time she didn't stop him. He brushed his thumb along her cheek. "But you'll have to tell me when."

Buttercup swallowed thickly. "Not a word of what happens in here to anyone. Not even your brothers."

"Mum's the word," he promised with a smirk that shot straight through her and made her face heat up again.

She scanned him for a moment, gaze locking with his. The sincerity in his gaze floored her. It was a look she hadn't seen on his face in all the years she'd known him. Her body screamed at her to just do it! If she was honest with herself, she knew he was attractive, and everybody had practically forced them into this situation anyway. So who the hell were they to judge her if she fraternized with the enemy? Just this one?

"Oh, what the hell?"

Buttercup grasped the back of his head and pulled him to her, slamming her lips onto his. A spark flew through her at the contact, settling in her lower stomach. He groaned, spurring her onward.

Instinctually, she lifted her legs to wrap around his waist while his hands grasped her thighs, using the wall behind her as leverage. Which one of them had initiated the movement remained a mystery since it felt as natural as breathing.

Their lips moved together almost in perfect sync from the moment they touched, and it took very little time for them to find their rhythm. She ran her hands through his spiky hair, noting that it was in fact soft despite the product he had to use to style it that way as he traced lazy shapes on the outside of her thighs. It felt like the two of them were trying to siphon all of the air out of the room, and it made her heart pound harder in her chest.

They broke apart for a moment to catch their breath, and she noticed the piercing at the corner of his panting mouth. It had been neglected, and she had barely felt it during their kiss before. However, one thought nagged at the back of her mind.

"Do you mind if I try something?" In another time and place, she would hate how breathy her voice sounded. But now, in this moment, anything more forceful seemed inappropriate.

"Anything you want," he rasped out. She noticed that his emerald irises were almost entirely swallowed by his dilated pupils, sending a little thrill through her.

With no further prompting, she took the lip piercing in her mouth and gently sucked on it before wiggling her tongue through the hoop. The growl she received in return made her smile, repeating the motion. However, this seemed to open up the dam as one of Butch's hands rose to wind in her hair, tilting her head as his tongue slipped in her mouth.

She shivered as the ball of his tongue piercing scraped along the roof of her mouth. Forgetting where they were for a moment, her mind wandered to how the piercing would feel on other parts of her body only to hear an abrupt knocking.

Reluctantly, Buttercup pulled away, breathing heavily. Butch looked up at her with a goofy grin on his face, making her stomach flutter. This look was way better than the stupid smirk he wore all the time.

"Holy shit," he murmured.

"Yeah," she said, unable to find other words for a moment. But when he still didn't pull away, Buttercup felt a smirk tug at her lips. "Did that live up to your expectations?"

Butch scoffed. "The real thing will always put everything else to shame." He nuzzled into her neck momentarily, ghosting his lips along her collarbone.

She cleared her throat. "We really to get out of this closet or people are going to get suspicious."

"I don't care."

Buttercup rolled her eyes, ignoring the blush that rose to her cheeks. "Put me down, dickweed."

This finally seemed to do the trick as Butch pulled away from her, allowing her feet to slip back on the floor. The two took a minute to adjust themselves before sharing small smiles. After quickly running her fingers through her hair, Buttercup schooled her expression into a scowl before opening the door.

"There. It's done. Can we go home now?" she huffed.

Bubbles glanced between the two for a moment before frowning. "If you're sure you still want to go…"

"Damn straight I do. You swore that I could leave after I got stuck in a closet with that asshole for seven fucking minutes." Out of the corner of her eye, Buttercup saw a brief, dark look flash over Butch's features, but it disappeared so quickly that she wondered if she had seen it at all. Before she thought too hard about it, Blossom came to her rescue.

"It is almost curfew, Bubbles. We stayed for a little longer like you wanted. Now it's time to go home." Blossom offered the room a smile. "Enjoy the rest of the party everyone. Get home safely!"

Buttercup tromped up the stairs quickly, trying to hide the smile that threatened to break out across her face from the tingles that still danced in her stomach.

* * *

Monday morning came both too quickly and not quickly enough for the eager raven-haired girl. She'd skirted her sisters' inquiries about the slight change in her demeanor, but she couldn't deny the thrum in her veins. Buttercup knew her sisters would interpret it as something deeper than it was, so telling them was absolutely out of the question.

She knew that it meant nothing more than unfinished business with her counterpart. He was every bit as infuriating as he had been prior to the closet incident, but there was no denying her desire to kiss him again. …and maybe quieting her curiosity about how his piercing would feel in other places.

But only if she felt like letting him, of course.

So imagine her surprise when she didn't see him anywhere in the school. For the entire first half of the day. Despite sharing two classes with the brute.

By lunch, her nerves were shot, and she found herself scowling at no one in particular. Maybe this was the world's way of confirming that they really and truly didn't approve of the green Powerpuff and Rowdyruff spending any more time together than absolutely necessary. Not that it should have come as a surprise to her; that was just her luck.

However, her undirected rage suddenly had a very clear direction as her lime green eyes locked on her muscular counterpart sitting a couple of tables away with his brothers. Buttercup was torn between being utterly enraged at him for obviously avoiding her and being horrified at herself for the tingles that overtook her when she spotted him.

Who the fuck did he think he was? Where the hell did Butch Jojo get off acting like he hadn't enjoyed it just as much as she did?

Fuck him and fuck this. Buttercup Utonium demanded answers.

Without a word to her sisters, the infuriated Puff walked over to the table the hulk of a human sat at, pausing only for a moment, before punching him in the back of the head.

Boomer stared at her with wide eyes while Brick pointedly stared at Butch, gauging a reaction. However, before any of them could speak, Buttercup's mouth got the best of her.

"Where the hell have you been all day?!" she shouted, fists shaking.

The look he gave her when he finally turned around stopped her rage dead in its tracks, if only for a moment. It was the coldest, harshest look he'd ever given her. It was the first time Buttercup gave the phrase "if looks could kill" any merit at all; Butch truly looked like he was trying to bore a hole right through her.

"What's the matter? Miss me, Butterbabe?"

All of the arrogance and jest usually present in the nickname was nowhere to be found. He simply glared at her.

Now what the fuck was he so angry about? She knew full well that he had avoided her all day, so what right did he have to look at her like that? With his pupils practically pinpricks in his eyes?

Especially when on Friday night his eyes had looked so different.

"Who the hell pissed in your Cheerios?"

Butch rolled his eyes. "Did you want something, or can I get back to my food now?"

Buttercup's eyes narrowed. He just blew her off! What the hell was going on?

"No way. Not until you tell me what the fuck is wrong with you."

"Me?" Butch scoffed as he stood, rage emanating from him in waves. "That's rich, Buttercup."

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Brick chose this moment to vocally step in. "Children, take it outside."

"People are staring," Boomer murmured, eyes flickering around the cafeteria.

What was their deal? Buttercup and Butch fought all the time in front of people! Why were they suddenly acting so dodgy?

Wordlessly, Butch grabbed her wrist and dragged her out the back door of the cafeteria to, quite literally, take it outside. Despite his anger, Buttercup wryly noted that his grip barely hurt. So either he was going soft or hurting her was not his modus operandi. She smiled slightly to herself; maybe he was just giving them the excuse they needed to continue where they left off.

After all, who would interrupt a Greens fight?

"I'll give you this, for an idiot, this wasn't a bad idea," Buttercup said with a smirk as he finally slowed down.

Butch whirled around to face her. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

She rose an eyebrow. "Getting away from the public eye with that fake fight? Pretty ingenious of you." She frowned. "Though, now that I think about it, your brothers seemed to be in on it. You shit! You told them about what happened Friday night, didn't you?!"

"Of course I did!"

Her jaw dropped, and she slugged him square in the stomach. "You dickweed! You swore you wouldn't tell anybody!"

"Well when I practically broke every piece of equipment in the observatory, Brick wasn't exactly going to let that go without an explanation!"

"Why were you breaking shit then, stupid?!"

"Because I was pissed off!"

"I reiterate – who pissed in your Cheerios?"

"YOU."

Buttercup blinked. "What?"

Now it was Butch's fists that were shaking. "God dammit, Buttercup! You really had me going, you know that? Acting like you were into it. Maybe I really am an idiot."

"What do you mean 'acting,' Butch?"

He gripped his hair as though he was about to rip it out. "You didn't have to do that, you know. I knew you hated me, but that was just fucking cruel. We could have just done nothing in that closet for seven minutes rather than you be a damn tease!"

"Did you seriously think I was going to fuck you in a closet?!"

"No! But did you have to make such a fucking show of how subpar it was for you? You couldn't just leave the closet like a normal person?"

"Butch, I don't know what the fuck you're talking about. I didn't say anything like that!"

"But you sure as hell got out of there as fast as you could. You couldn't wait to leave me with fucking blue balls that sure as shit didn't go away all weekend."

If Buttercup was a different kind of girl, the abrasive choice of words might have made her blush. But this was the first thing Butch had said in this entire conversation that made any fucking sense to her. "Wait a second. You think that's why I wanted to leave?"

"Seems pretty obvious to me."

Buttercup groaned. "You are such an idiot!"

"Yeah, you've made that pretty clear."

"Oh my God, Butch! That is not why I left!"

"Then tell me why."

"Because if I stayed I might have actually _let_ you fuck me in that closet!"

The silence roared in her ears. After all of the yelling, it seemed more oppressive by comparison. The only satisfaction she had was the wide eyed gap her counterpart was sporting. Served him right for making stupid assumptions.

"W-what?"

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "You heard me. As much as it pains me to admit it, I didn't hate being in that closet with you nearly as much as I should have."

He simply continued to stare at her.

"In fact, I've been looking for you all day to see if you…you know, wanted to pick up where we left off." She avoided his gaze at this point. "Not like a relationship or anything stupid like that. Just…well, let's just say you weren't the only one with blue balls this weekend."

Now he seemed to find his voice with a soft, "Holy shit."

"Funny. I remember hearing that somewhere before." Buttercup smirked and met his gaze again. "So?"

"Are you serious?" Butch eyed her skeptically. "How do I know you're not full of shit?"

"Oh for God's sake," Buttercup grumbled with an eye roll before she grabbed him the same way she had on Friday and brought his mouth to hers again. He responded in kind, pulling her flush against him in a way that made her insides dance. And when he tilted her head, she swore that she felt her toes curl.

And then the bell rang.

Because of course it did. Maybe if Butch and his stupid pride had gotten to the point faster, they could have spent more time doing this!

Butch groaned. "Tell me that wasn't what I think it was."

With a smirk, Buttercup disentangled herself from his embrace. "Afraid so. And now I need to go get my back-up lunch since I didn't eat anything all lunch thanks to someone making me too angry to eat."

"Well, I hear that guy is a pretty lucky son of a bitch."

"Who better not forget that either."

Butch grinned at her. "So…same time tomorrow?"

She felt the corners of her lips twitch in return. "Only if there's a lot less talking."

The chuckle she heard started deep in his chest. "That I can promise you."

Another thrill went through her at his dark promises. Somehow Buttercup had a feeling that she'd be getting well acquainted with his piercing quite soon.

One thing was certain: they certainly didn't look as stupid to her as they had a few days ago.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! If you have the time, I'd love to hear what you think!**

 **Love and Rockets,**

 **Stranique**


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